The Senate has okayed President Bola Tinubu’s request on the 2022-2024 external borrowing rolling plan of 7.4 billion dollars and 100 million euros.
This came after the adoption of report of the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debt at plenary.
While presenting the report, the Vice Chairman of the Committee, Sen. Haruna Manu, said the committee noted with utmost importance, the genuine and very serious concerns of Nigerians about the level and sustainability, serviceability of the nation’s borrowing activities in the last decade.
According to him, the debt service figures have a huge drain on the nation’s revenue to the extent that it accounts for over 30 per cent of its expenditure in the annual budget.
Manu added that due to the shortfall on the nation’s annual revenue in relation to its need for rapid infrastructural and human capital development, the National Assembly had to pass deficit budget every year. This, he said required borrowing to finance the deficit in the budget.
He explained that the borrowing request seeking approval of National Assembly was proposed to be borrowed from various financial institutions.
According to him, the proposed projects in the Ministries’ of Education, Agriculture and Women Affairs were mostly ongoing projects and programmes in respect of which external borrowed funds have been spent in the past, including loans.
He noted that the projects have a great multiplier effect on stimulating economic growth through infrastructure development, job creation and poverty alleviation, stimulation of commercial and engineering activities.
